Then with his rifle grasped firmly in his hand, he walked slowly and noiselessly to the door of the shack. He half expected to be challenged by LeBlanc before he could reach the door.
No one halted his approach, however, and he came up to the door. It was half ajar, and holding his rifle so that he could instantly cover anyone, he threw open the door.
There he saw a sight that made his heart leap.
In one corner of the shack was Ruth, tied hand and foot, and a dirty rag stuffed in her mouth for a gag. In addition to the bonds on her wrists and ankles, she was tied to a projecting log.
He ran over to the girl, whipping his knife from his pocket as he did so.
It was the work of a moment only to cut the bonds that tied her and release the gag from her mouth. Ruth let him free her, and then stood erect for a moment, and being only a girl, dropped over in a dead faint.
The inside of the cabin was nearly dark, and he was searching about wildly to see if there was any water within, when he heard a muffled groan from another corner.
Garry ran to the corner and was astonished to see that a man, tied and gagged in the same manner that Ruth had been, was lying there.
The boy hesitated for a moment before releasing him, and then reflected that he could not be inimical since such drastic measures had been taken to render him helpless.
His indecision was only momentary, and then with a few swift strokes of his knife, he freed the man.